Less than 2 days of training, instead of 10, puts lives of skydivers at risk

BANGALORE: A day and a half of training is all that you may get to plunge 3,000 feet for a solo static jump as well as tandem jump. It is such insufficient and inadequate training, inexperienced enthusiasts who run flying clubs and zero monitoring of these activities that can turn the costly hobby of skydiving fatal, warn experts.

This adventure sports, they say, requires rigorous training. "We would suggest eight to 10 days of training before a participant takes up the task of skydiving. Several clubs, though, do not bother about such training to reduce their own flying expenses such as fuel for aircraft. There are even exercises for mental preparedness, which are not followed in several places," says Rukmini Chandra, director, National Adventure Foundation, Karnataka chapter.

Adding to the concerns is the fact that there are no agencies to register these hobbies.

"In my view, some of the civil organizations that get into aero or adventure sports are juvenile. There is no concept of precaution and no safety standards. There must be a standby or an emergency parachute. If that is compromised, then you have straightaway taken off 50% of the survival chances," says Air Marshal B K Pandey, former chief of Training Command (Air Force).

As there are no training schools or regulatory authority in India, many of the trainers obtain licences from foreign bodies such as United States Parachute Association (USPA). Several clubs have also trainers who are retired defence officers.